Welcome back to the Scale Builder’s Guild, thanks again for watching! Today it’s a top five list of what I consider to be the best five crawlers released in 2021.
This is a pretty capable list if I am honest, everything on this list is a pretty spectacular release. Something I was really happy with and really thrilled to have in my collection.
It’s very late in December so I doubt we’re going to see anything new come out before the New Year. So this is about as comprehensible a list as I think I could make.
Without further Ado let’s get right into it in no particular or well maybe it is a particular order we’ll never know, here’s those builds.
Coming in at Number 5 and not necessarily at number 5 in terms of any order the Axial SCX-6.
I was truly blown away by this truck and I really hope that Axial and other manufacturers for that matter take a look at this larger-scale RC crawling scene.
Because I really think that this was a pretty breakthrough release for 2021. It builds on the strength of the SCX103 platform with some major changes that made it a lot better.
Notably in the transmission and the way that power is delivered and the gap between the first and second gear, this really did make it a usable second gear, uh it is a big this boy, 25 plus pounds, and uh just looks so great on the trails.
It really adds a whole other dimension to RC Rock Crawling.
I think it deserves a place on this list uh because it is so innovative and something new and something different and something that got people really excited uh it really did hit the RC Crawling scene with a huge bang and what also really kind of makes me optimistic about the future of this vehicle is aftermarket support.
I think we’re going to see a lot of stuff coming out for this truck and hopefully some new variants in coming years from Axial. So there you go Axial SCX-6, definitely on the top five and earned that spot.
And next on the list here is the Traxxas TRX4 Bronco, this is the 2021 Ford Bronco uh I really loved this truck. Kind of came out of nowhere, didn’t see Traxxas coming out with this, and uh it was a surprise release to me.
I am really glad it’s here, there’s a lot of really great stuff about this, I like to think of TRX as sort of a Swiss Army Knife of RC Crawlers.
You can do a lot with it right out of the box, locking unlocking the differentials, two-speed transmission. A lot of these features I am not a giant fan of but when they’re done well they work really well and this is one of the cases where I feel like you are looking for something that can do a little bit of everything uh high-speed low-speed crawling and look really great while doing it then this is definitely a good choice for you.
A really nice detailed body, inner fender, and a pretty darn reliable drivetrain if I don’t say so myself definitely one to look at if you’re looking for something new to add to the collection and it is proven to be very popular. So there you go number two on this list or four.
Coming up next is the Element RC Night Runner, this is the culmination of a collaboration between the Elementar C and Knight Customs, not Knights Customs.
James provided a great-looking body, some excellent accessories, and element provided with an excellent chassis with an independent front suspension to really appeal to the scale accurate market looking for a Toyota- Esque vehicle.
Sort of satiate that Overlander style and I think they do a really great job on this, it looks fantastic, it drives really well despite having ifs and the aftermarket has also embraced this vehicle. There are a ton of upgrades from Artful Dodgers among other companies to really set this truck off and make it look even better than it did out of the box.
This was definitely a very fun release for me. I loved accessorizing mine and adding a bunch of additional parts of Knight Customs and uh it is a great-looking truck.
So definitely one to take another look at and this number three, I guess we can call it number three.
Next on the list, is a more controversial choice probably from someone like me but I really like Axial SCX 103 early Bronco.
There is one big differentiator between this and some of the other SCX103 RTrs on the market – This one has the straight axle conversion kit pre-installed and I am a sucker for a straight axle it is uh for me always going to be a much more accurate looking truck. The one downside is those 100-millimeter shocks I just feel like there is way too much up travel and it just looks a bit goofy but it is an excellently detailed Lexan body.
You get a lot of additional plastic molded parts that really set it off and kind of set it apart from a lot of the other trucks on the market.
Definitely, a good-looking truck and has lots of aftermarket potential because it is Axial and there are a ton of aftermarket parts and support for these vehicles and it’s one of the more good-looking unique body styles that we’ve seen, yes it’s not another Jeep.
Looks really good, performs really well too, and uh comes in at a pretty decent price for an RTR with pretty decent electronics I might add too, definitely something to consider and definitely made my list of the top five new releases for 2021.
And last but not least, “the Vanquish Vvs410 Phoenix”, probably in my opinion the best release of 2021 and maybe even 2022.
I mean we don’t know what’s coming out yet but uh this truck really ticks a lot of the boxes.
A lot of really innovative features in that VFD twin transmission uh allowing for a selectable four-wheel drive two-wheel drive uh dig and overdrive all selectable. It’s pretty incredible, you can go from 33 overdrive to six percent overdrive with the flick of a switch. It is spectacular.
If you don’t want to hit it out that way, you don’t have to. You can lock it in one of those respective gearings and just run it all day long however you like.
A nice really unique-looking body, great plastic body quality, plastic portal axles.
It really does have it all and you have got the quality of Vanquish behind it so you know it’s going to be a live viable truck and it’s going to set itself apart from other trucks on the market with that long list of really innovative technology.
A smart buy if you ask me and “number one” without a question.
So there you go, that’s all the five.
I think 2021 was a pretty fantastic year for our section of the hobby and I don’t think 2022 is going to disappoint any of us either, there is a lot more cool stuff to come I am sure.
Can’t say for sure, the lawyers will be after me but I hope you stick around, I am sure we’ll do this again in 2022.
Also, coming very soon, the top five builds from the “Scale Builder’s Guild Forum for 2021” Avery popular show.
There’s a lot of talented builders and this year it was really difficult to knock it down to five builds but I think I did a pretty good job, I hope you’ll stick around for that.
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We’ll see you again soon.